Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Makeup

I rarely wear makeup; because I work from home a lot and no one sees me except for my landlord’s dog and dogs are colorblind. But on those occasions that I do go out in to the world, I don’t want to scare anyone, so I have to wear makeup.

It’s not so much that there are “makeup people” as there are women (and men) that know more and do more with their makeup then regular people. My makeup is in one little bag and consists of base, blush, powder, mascara, eyeliner, and the brushes that go with these products. I don’t wear eye shadow unless I am going out and wearing fancy shoes (this is how I differentiate the night from other nights).

People have many different reasons for wearing and loving makeup. It’s probably my theater kid background, but for me, makeup makes me feel like a different person; kind of like a real grown up, which is a hard feat to accomplish wearing jeans, a hoodie and a pair of Chucks. But add a little bit of makeup and I suddenly feel like a career woman or a fancy lady (depending on which Chucks I’m wearing).

Unfortunately, the makeup literate are a little judgmental of those of us that don’t carry highlighter, bronzer, toner, or that powder that takes the green out of your face. When someone starts talking about makeup my eyes glaze over and I start mentally going through all the shows I need to watch on my DVR. I realize this is rude and makes conversation boring for both people involved.

I thought it might be easier instead of giving you tons of info in this day and age of ADD, I’m giving you 8 things you can say the next time you’re getting ready for a night out on the town with your makeup obsessed roomie:

1. “Ya know, you really don’t have to spend tons of money to get good stuff.”

This is the mantra of makeup people and it makes me roll my eyes, but it’s true. It’s all about picking and choosing the pieces of your “kit” that are worth it to you. For me it’s blush and foundation. Everything else from eye shadow to nail polish, there are ways to save money. There are a lot of other tips you can find to save some cash here.

2. “People never understand the importance of primer. “

Guys, you have to get your face ready for makeup or the makeup is going to hurt you (not in like a needles on your face way) but it will be detrimental. Or at the very least it won’t last the night. That’s why you have you clean your skin and put on primer for your face AND eyelids (on the nights you wear fancy shoes). Lots of people are swearing by Clinique’s Correcting Primer these days.

3. “BB and CC are not someone’s name, duh! “

Nowadays foundations have BB and CC creams in them. What the hell is this? BB stands for beauty balm. It is sort of an all-in-one foundation, moisturizer, sun block and serum. CC cream stands for Color Correcting. CC cream has sun block in it as well as some anti-aging properties and treatment for uneven skin tones; it also isn’t as oily as BB cream.

4. “I’m really getting into gel blush, it feels cleaner and more natural.”

Gel/creme blush vs. powder blush is almost a debate between the newer generations of makeup users (us) and the old (our moms). Gel blush or stain comes in either a tube, a little pot that looks like lip gloss (sometimes it doubles as lip stain) or a stick. I still use powder blush because when I try to use the gel it dries too quickly on my face and then I have a weird stripe, I’m sure this isn’t the case for more advanced makeup users. I think crème blush is the best middle ground for this problem.

5. “I stopped putting concealer under my eyes, I feel like it makes the wrinkles worse”

If you are over a certain age, you may have noticed a few fine lines around the eyes that have popped up. I find that concealer settles into those lines. It really depends on the consistency of the concealer though so if you have dark circles and fine lines, look for something lightweight. Where I use concelear is on my nose and chin because it’s a great way to counteract any redness in your face. And remember if you DO use it under your eyes, DAB with your ring finger to blend, you don’t want to pull on that sensitive skin and make it sag more!

6. “I’m trying to figure out if tonight is fancy enough to wear liquid eyeliner.”

Some people use liquid liner all the time, these people are clearly pros. My hand isn’t steady enough for that. I have to use a pencil all the time or I look like I got stitches on my eye. A great rule of thumb is pencil for day, liquid for night.

7. “I feel naked until I put my lipstick/gloss on”

For me, what to put on my lips is the most confusing/nerve wracking/exciting part of putting on makeup. I happen to think that my best feature is my lips. And I put a lot of pressure on myself to do them justice. For day, I use a clear or subtle color glosses or a tinted chapstick type stick that is NOT chapstick (I use Clinique’s chubbysticks). At night, I love a good red lipstick. Or if it is a more causal night, a berry color that compliments my natural lip color. Lipstick is where you get to play around, have fun with it For a non-makeup person, I own waaaay too many lip colors.

8. “I saw it in Allure”

If “Vogue” is the fashion Bible, “Allure” is the beauty Bible. You don’t have to say you read it somewhere, you can say you read it in Allure. It will give you some beauty street cred. Fo sho.

If all else fails in any makeup related conversation, just ask a question. You know the feeling when someone says they love your outfit and asks where you got it and you get to tell them it was on sale? The same applies for makeup. And whatever you do…..don’t say the word “makeover” unless you mean it.

FOR MORE INFO

If you are ready to be a makeup maven yourself, check out these blogs/sites to get the latest news on trends, deals and great products.

Giggles in Your Inbox

!

Connect with us

About us

HelloGiggles is a positive online community for women (although men are always welcome!) covering the latest in beauty, fashion, lifestyle, female empowerment, culture, relationships, friendship, careers, and issues that matter most to young women’s lives. A platform for writers and artists to create and share, HelloGiggles welcomes reader contributions and publishes them daily. And now, we are growing beyond just the website to include video, film, television and events. We were founded by Zooey Deschanel, Molly McAleer, and Sophia Rossi in 2011 as a place on the Internet to inspire a smile. We’re still trying to do just that.